Crete and Cyrenaica

Crete and Cyrenaica was a province of the Roman Empire which existed from 67 BC to 297 AD, with Cyrene serving as its capital. After the death of King Ptolemy Apion of Cyrenaica in 96 BC, he left the kingdom to the Roman Republic in his will, and, in 74 BC, the Romans decided to annex the province after local Jewish revolts broke out. Cyrenaica became a stable province, and, in 66 BC, the Romans conquered Crete due to its association with Mediterranean pirates. In 297 AD, Emperor Diocletian decided to partition the province due to its inconvenient boundaries.